Overall, about a third of the parents we interviewed in Whangaroa County country districts said they had been beaten at school for being caught speaking Maori, and a slightly smaller proportion had been punished in some other way. One of the punishments was digging blackberries, and one person told us that as a boy he had established a thriving business, digging up blackberries in his spare time. He kept a "blackberry bank" and sold plants for a penny or two each to his mates so they could avoid serving their sentences personally!
Te Tai Tokerau | Northland | Far North | 1970-79 | 5% of Māori children can speak te reo. (1970-75) | Story is by tangata whenua
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